Movies

We had a gift exchange at work a couple weeks ago.  I got 2 Regal movie tickets!  And then we received our gift from the office- 2 AMC movie tickets!  Awesome! 4 movie tickets = 2 movies for me and Kurt to see before Lobi arrives!  We intended to see a double feature yesterday (even though we'd have to go to two different theaters).  Our plan was to start in North Seattle and see Les Miserables (a Regal theater) and then go up to Alderwood (AMC theater) and see The Hobbit.  Alderwood often sells out so we stopped by on our way to Seattle to buy our tickets ahead of time...but not soon enough!  They were sold out all day for both movies we wanted to see!  So we checked online for the other theater- that one was sold out for both movies all day too!  What the what?  I knew it would be a popular weekend to go to the movies, but I didn't expect this!  So instead we stopped by Babies'R'Us and then headed over to Woodinville.  Les Mis was all sold out, but we got tickets to see The Hobbit.  Whew!  Who knew going to the movies was so complicated?  We had a couple hours to kill so we ate at Red Robin then wandered through some stores.  OshKosh b'gosh had some adorable hats with their onesies- Kurt loved the giraffe hat and I loved the elephant one!

 
We enjoyed the movie and will attempt to see Les Miserables sometime this week!  Wish us luck!

King Tut!

Kurt, Jeanette, and I went to the King Tutankhamun exhibition at the Science Center on Christmas Eve!  I've been wanting to go ever since it arrived in Seattle- the exhibit is leaving in a couple weeks so I'm happy we were able to attend!  I wanted to be an archaeologist growing up, even an Egyptologist for a while!  While neither of these things happened, I did end up being a history major and took a lot of ancient history classes- mostly Greek and Roman.  And guess what?  Those Greeks thought the Egyptians were weird!  No joke (ask Herodotus).  Anyways...King Tut!

I loved the exhibit!  Hieroglyphs, colossal statues, small sculptures, gold, wood, reed beds!  It's amazing what has been preserved thanks to the dry conditions in Egypt.  I found it interesting how many statues were appropriated by different rulers.  I guess some statues were so amazing that pharaohs/legislators just decided to re-use them!

I remember learning about the Amarna period in one of my classes at UW, but it was cool to see examples of it for myself!  During the Amarna period, the pharaoh Akhenaten drastically changed the Egyptian religion.  He decided they'd only worship one god- the sun god, Aten.  Not only did the religion change, but so did the art.  The heads of pharaoh and his family members almost look alien!  They're all elongated and the features are much more delicate versus the angular sculptures of the periods before and after.  Tutankhamun was the son of Akhenaten.  He reversed the changes his father had made back to the old religion and traditions of Egypt.  After Tut died at a young age without an heir (he had two stillborn daughters- the fetuses were found in his tomb!  We saw the jars the fetuses were kept in) Egypt was thrown for a loop and scrambled to find a new leader.

My only disappointment was that there was no mummy or even a sarcophagus at the end!  Tut was buried in about 5 sarcophagi (like nesting dolls) so I thought at least one would be there!  But, alas, it wasn't to be. 

If you're in the Seattle area go see the King Tut exhibit before it's gone!

No pictures were allowed, but we took one in the gift shop:

38 Weeks!

We're getting close!  At my appointment yesterday the doctor said it's not likely she'll come in the next week.  So we should make it to week 39.

The nurse was measuring Lobi's heartbeat when she pulled her hand back from my stomach:
Nurse:  She kicked me!
Me:  Me too!
The nurse laughed.

Dr. Frankwick commented on my ankles:
Doctor: You're ankles are disappearing!
Me:  You should see them at the end of the day! :)

It's so true.  Kankles!

Here we are!  I swear this girl has tripled in size in the past 4 weeks.  I'll get to meet her soon!

Swaddling

I decided to practice swaddling!  Not everyone can say they've swaddled an elephant- or a dog! :)

 

 

I'm pretty excited about swaddling and we have lots of swaddling blankets!  I sure hope Lobi enjoys it!

Christmas Eve!

Kurt, Ani, and I enjoyed some tradition Mexican food on Christmas Eve! 

We also went to a Christmas lights show, sang some carols (mostly me), and each opened a present.  We all got pajamas!  I LOVE this picture of Kurt and Ani:

It was a wonderful Christmas Eve.  I even think Ani had fun :)  So glad we could spend it with her!

Christmas time is here!

Last year we invited Kurt's family over for crepes and a gift exchange a couple weeks before Christmas.  We had a great time and decided to make it an annual tradition.  Unfortunately, Cristi's flight was delayed (over 24 hours!) so she couldn't come and then William came down with an ear infection so the Han's were out too.  Kurt, Ma, Pa, the Winsteads, and I were all there and enjoyed the extra crepes!  No pictures, but here's the invitation I made:

 

 



It's just the beginning of a very busy weekend!  Tomorrow morning we're going to the King Tut exhibit (I'm SUPER excited) and then taking Jeanette to the airport (she's coming to the exhibit too).  Then Ani's coming for Christmas Eve!  I'm kind of really excited to have her here.  I'm so glad she's coming!  We're making Mexican food in traditional Johnson family fashion (tradition stolen from the Davies' family).  Ani's staying the night so we'll get to open presents with her!  Then it's off the the Biehl's for Christmas dinner.  I'm already exhausted but I can't wait to spend the next few days with family!  Don't we look excited?

 

 

P.S. 37 weeks!

Ode to Grandpa

My grandpa turns 92 today!  I can't believe he's that old and neither can he- in his own words "that's a lot of water under the bridge!"  I'm so grateful that he has lived this long so his youngest grandchild (that's me) could get to know him.  I hope that my little girl gets the chance to fall asleep while great-grandpa's rocking her only to have him fall asleep too :)  He's the greatest grandpa in the world!


Here's my grandpa as a boy (far left).

And here he is in 2010 at my wedding.  On the far left again :)

36 Weeks!

Less than 1 month to go! 

Birthing Class

We are half way through our birthing class!  It's been interesting.  I'm not a fan of the videos...birth is a very personal thing.  But overall I think we've learned some good things- especially about Kurt's role!  I have found this to be comforting, but I think it's making Kurt more nervous.  I told him he has the easy job and will need to be the strong one.  Not sure that made him any less nervous :)  It's going to be an adventure, and probably not an enjoyable one, but we'll get Lobi on the other side!  Which is the start of a whole new adventure. 

Nativity!

Kurt and I have our first nativity!  And it's actually Lobi's.  The baby shower last Saturday had a book theme (awesome idea Jeanette!).  My mom gave us a picture book titled "The Very First Christmas" and a matching nativity!  I love the book (it rhymes) and the nativity is absolutely adorable!

The figurines and book match.  How fun!

Getting there with a little help from our friends

I had my 4th and final baby shower yesterday!  The final three were all last week- family shower on Sunday, work shower on Thursday, and college friends shower on Saturday.  I can't express my gratitude enough for the kindness and generosity of my friends, family, and co-workers!  Not only have they given me shower presents, but I've received hand-me-down clothes, a rocking chair, changing table, dresser, and a stroller!  They're all used, but in great shape and we absolutely could not have afforded to get all this stuff ourselves!  Kurt and I wouldn't have been able to make this work without all you good folks!  Thank you so much!  We love you! 

We have some clothes now!  I received lots of adorable outfits from my co-workers and tons of hand-me-downs from my sister Megan which beefed up our collection.  We're going to use the bookshelf as a 'dresser'.  We plan on buying more of the cloth containers (see the one we already have?) and using those as 'drawers'.

Lobi now has some adorable stuffed animals (the giant octopus is from Lili!  She was very excited about it) and great books!  I can't wait to read them to her.

We have more stuff under the crib and changing table and even more around the house!  I'm sure there will be more pictures once everything is put together.  I'm so glad we opted for a 2 bedroom apartment 1.75 years ago otherwise we wouldn't have enough room!

34 Weeks

I think I'm finally starting to feel pregnant- I'm definitely warmer than usual and I just noticed a couple days ago that my ankles and feet are quite swollen at the end of the day.  Strangely, the right foot swells more than the left.  I tend to spill things on my belly too...

I wore this same shirt 10 weeks ago!  I think Lobi's grown a little.

Let the Christmas season begin!

I love Christmas trees!  I decorated the tree and ate homemade Chex mix while listening to Christmas music. 

Here's our 2012 ornament.  We bought it when we went to Universal Studios back in March:

I decorated the mantle a bit too.  We have a little stocking for Lobi!

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was a busy weekend!  We were running around seeing all our different family members.  It was especially great to the Roths and Franks who came from Utah and the Tri-Cities respectively.  I think I'm still stuffed!  And still tired :)

I didn't take many pictures, but somehow the only day I did was the day I didn't shower!  And the pictures are pretty much only of Olivia.  She's so cute!

We went to Washington Park and enjoyed getting rained on while at the beach.  Here's Kurt and I with Olivia.  The last time we saw her she didn't know how to babble and her eyes weren't blue!  She's grown a ton!

Charlotte was there too!  She loves her blue dress and refuses to wear anything else...even on a 45 degree day in the rain while at the beach.  She had to be freezing!

Kurt's an expert rock skipper:

It was a beautiful day...the clouds really rolled in.

I'm so thankful for my family and that I was able to see them this weekend.  I wish they lived closer so I could see them more often- especially now that Lobi's on her way! 

Merc!

I made thank you cards to send out to those who attended my first baby shower.  I think they turned out well, but were rather time consuming so I'll be using pre-made cards for the next showers!

Congratulations Adam!

My brother-in-law Adam passed the bar in California!  He's officially a lawyer now.  Congratulations Adam!  We're so excited for you!

And here's a picture of Ole and Gus (stolen from Ashley's blog) to celebrate!  They're standing now! So cute!

32 Weeks!

Which means only 8 to go!  Had an appointment yesterday and all looks good.  I feel like Lobi's grown a ton in the past couple weeks.

Mukluks!

I got these for my birthday!  And I love them!

The end!

A Lobi Weekend

I had my first baby shower this weekend!  Ladies in my ward put it together and we had a great time!  I heard some awesome stories about pregnancy, birth, and children and received some great gifts!  After my 4th baby shower I don't think we'll need baby clothes for at least the first year :)  Thank you to everyone who came and who helped put it together!  And I really do enjoy your 'horror' stories.  I know I'm going to collect some horror stories of my own and it's good to know in advance that I'm not the only mom with crazy experiences and crazy kids.

Clothes!

Shoes, hat, socks, swaddling blankets, and more!

Cute clothes!  Can't wait until Lobi can wear them!

We also bought a crib for Lobi this weekend!  It was quite the adventure.  First, they gave us the wrong color (even though I asked specifically if it was white 3 different times in the store).  After exchanging it for the correct color we took it home and started putting it together.  Until one of the screws broke.  Kurt bought a replacement today and we finally got our crib put together!  We don't have bedding yet- one step at a time.  Here's the nursery thus far:

Kurt is the best!

Warning: This is a cheesy post! 

Thank you Kurt!  Thanks for letting me rest yesterday.  Thanks for folding the laundry, doing the dishes, and making my lunch while I was resting.  Thanks for putting together the crib and figuring out how to fix the broken part.  Thanks for changing the sheets at 3am after my nose decided to bleed on them.  Lots of crazy things have happened in the past couple weeks and I'm so glad to have had you by my side through all of them!  Thanks for being my wonderful husband!

30 Weeks

Only 10 weeks to go!  That doesn't seem like very long!  My insides are definitely feeling squished now.  I can't eat too much at once and I get short of breath much easier.  When my guts grumble the noises come from weird places- like underneath my ribs or on my side almost to my back.  Lobi moves a ton!  And the movements are much stronger.  You can see my stomach move of its own accord (well, of Lobi's accord) which Kurt and I find very entertaining. 

 

 

Kurt likes this picture better:

 



Busy Weekend

We went out to eat with Mom, Clarence, and Jeanette as an early birthday dinner for me!  Afterwards we went to Spencer's baptism.  I can't believe he's 8 years old!  In my mind he should still be the 3 year old I used to babysit.  I'm so glad we could be there for his big day!

Then we went home and ate cake!  Kurt made me a confetti cake with confetti frosting.  He's so sweet!  Just like the cake :)

Then we played games with Jeanette and Jen!  Just like old times at our house in Seattle (plus Kurt).  I can't even tell you how many board games Jen, Jeanette, and I have played together.  We all love them and lived together for about 3 years- it was a good combination! So fun to have us together again!

Bothell Stake's special Stake Conference was today.  We are now in the North Creek Ward.  All wards were re-named.  Technically, we're in the same ward, but it's going to be much smaller!  Our old ward was divided into 3.  Most members of Bothell 3rd are now in either the North Creek or Canyon Park Wards but some are in the Woodinville Ward.  The Canyon Park Ward didn't exist before today!  I'm excited for next week to see what our new ward will be like.  We have the same bishop, but new counselors.  Our Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary presidents are all in different wards now so there will be many new callings over the next couple weeks.  I've never been in a ward or stake that has reorganized.  It's kind of crazy!

It was a busy weekend, but the first of several busy weekends over the next couple months!  We have a lot to do before Lobi gets here.

Happy Halloween!

I didn't plan much for Halloween this year.  Except butterbeer!  Halloween = celebrate Harry Potter!  That's right, homemade butterbeer.  In our mugs from Harry Potter Land in Universal Studios.

 

Then I decided we needed costumes.  So, we worked with what we had.  Unfortunately, that meant I was a cat.  I'm allergic to cats!

And Kurt was Superman!

I made my ears and Kurt tried to make his glasses...until he decided I'd do a better job and asked for my help. 

Happy Halloween!

This is how watching football should be

We haven't been able to go to Ethan's or Ammon's football games the past few weeks.  The last one we went to it was really warm.  I was sweating bullets and it was super uncomfortable.  After all, it was the last weekend of September.  I was wearing jeans and a long sleeved shirt.  I even brought a jacket. 

So, even though it was cold, I was so happy to attend Ethan's game on Saturday and sit in the rain!  It was the semi-finals for Ethan's team and sadly they lost.  But I'm glad we could go!

I didn't take many pictures because I didn't want the camera to get wet, but most of them turned out hazy because of the misty rain.

 

Ammon had some awesome faded face paint on.  It was his ward's trunk or treat earlier in the evening.  Ammon was a zombie and Luke was a ninja...he wouldn't let me take his picture.

Final Jeopardy!

I got it right! 

Category: Mammals 

Answer: "Ancient Romans knew this animal featured in their circuses as a hippotigris". 

My reasoning: Hippo = horse and I assumed tigris = tiger.  Horse + tiger = horse tiger?  Tiger horse?  No...AH HA!  Zebra.  It's a zebra! (Thank you to my one quarter of Latin for helping me figure this out.)

Question: What is a Zebra?  Correct! 

It's not everyday I know the answer to final jeopardy.

Let the count down begin!

• October 31: Halloween
• November 4: New ward (ish)
• November 6: My 25th birthday!
• November 10: Baby Shower
• November 20-28: Family in town
• November 22: Thanksgiving
• November 25: Baby shower
• December 1: Baby shower
• December 1, 8, 15, 22: Birthing class
• December 25: Christmas!
• January 1: New Year!
• January 12: Lobi is due!

Glad I have something to distract me the last couple months of pregnancy!

New Stake!

It was announced at church yesterday that they're re-arranging out stake!  We currently have 6 wards and they'll be adding 2 more.  Apparently my ward has 1100 members on record and another ward has 800.  While not all those 1100 come, we're still bursting at the seams- we fill every classroom, section on the gym (including 2 classes on the stage), and even a closet during Sunday school.  There are over 175 children in primary and we meet in the chapel for Relief Society.  I can't say I'm surprised, rumors have been flying around ever since we've been in the ward that it would split, it's just crazy!  I can't wait to find out what the new boundaries will be and who will be in my new ward!  We're having a Stake Conference on November 4th (2 weeks!) to learn all the details and on the 11th we'll meet in our newly reorganized wards for the first time. 

28 Weeks

I'm in the 3rd trimester!  That means only 12 weeks to go.  I can't believe I'm getting that close.  All is well health wise.  I now have appointments every 3 weeks.  Good thing my doctor's office is close to work!

Pumpkin (shaped) Cheese Ball!

I'm on the Relief Society activities committee in my ward.  Specifically, I'm in charge or organizing the monthly recipe swap.  Everyone who comes brings a dish to share that fits in with the theme (or doesn't, I'm just glad when people come!).  The theme this month was Frightful and/or Delightful.  Frightful = a spooky Halloween dish and Delightful = a fall favorite.  Nothing came to mind for either option so I tried something new.

Ta da!  A pumpkin cheese ball- only in shape, not in flavor.  Crushed up Doritos are on the outside and a bell pepper stem is on top.  I thought it turned out cute!  And tasted alright too- Kurt was a fan!

10-11-12

I love it when the date is something cool like today!  Always makes my day a little better.  Doesn't happen every day!

It also go me thinking about when Lobi will be born.  Could she have a cool birth date?  The short answer: no.  She'll be close! 1-12-13 (almost a consecutive sequence) or 1-13-13 (only 1s and 3s?) or if she's born early 1-3-13 (one three one three).  We'll just have to wait and see! 

26 Weeks = 6 months!

Here's the baby bump!  I feel like she's grown a ton in the past couple weeks.

 

 

I had another appointment yesterday and did the glucose screening test.  The beverage I drank really didn't taste too bad.  It honestly was like flat soda with a bit of an aftertaste.  Then they drew my blood to test and make sure I don't have gestational diabetes. 

All is well with Lobi and with me!  As of my ultrasound nearly 7 weeks ago (can't believe it's been that long!) Lobi was only in the 25% for size!  She's so small!  But the doctor assured me that's fine and that she's completely healthy.  I just think it's crazy Kurt and I have a small baby (for now).  Neither of us are particularly small people. 

Kurt came with me and got to hear Lobi's heartbeat for the first time!  It was pretty cool.  I also got the whooping cough vaccine- there's a higher rate of whooping cough in western Washington than the national average.  My arm is rather sore today and I'm due to get a flu shot at work next week!   

 



I've had a very easy pregnancy thus far.  I've hardly had any nausea (let alone throwing up!) and my only complaints are sleepiness and a stuffy nose.  I'm now getting to the point where I can't eat as much or else things are very uncomfortable- there's not as much room with Lobi in there too :) 

There's still a lot to prepare for and tons of stuff to buy, but I just can't wait to meet this little girl!  I already think she's adorable and perfect.  And can I just say- she's going to have an awesome father!  I'm so excited for her to have Kurt as her dad.  She's a lucky little lady!